the summer campus
In the summer the Yellow Breeches is full of ducks (I’m delighted by this discovery). Last weekend Liz, my best theatre major, came down to visit from New York City, where she’s rocking an eight-week summer acting program. We decided to indulge nostalgia and take our favorite walk – since first semester freshman year, starting to cope with the first pangs of essay anxiety, we’ve been strolling down to the Swinging Bridge and relaxing to watch the water go by.
Feeding ducks are hysterical. They paddle into the current, build up a little speed, and suddenly they’re upside down, bums in the air and feet finning desperately just under the surface to keep them head-down at the bottom of the stream. Then they burst back upright, too buoyant for their own good, shake their heads, and repeat.
Did you know that ducks feed in large groups? These did – all but three.
These three ducks stayed off to the left of the others, closer to the bank. One, who looked like the youngest, didn’t eat at all – he checked out his surroundings, paddled in circles, and looked confused (I sympathized. That completely confused look describes me when I first arrived in Italy and realized the full extent of the language barrier). Another had the hang of diving underwater – in fact, he dove entirely under the water, wiggling like crazy; he’d gotten confused and thought instead of eating fish he ought to be one.
“That one’s my favorite,” said Liz. “He’s waaaaaaay enthusiastic.”
“That third one’s kind of demented,” I said, pointing to the other duck near the bank. “Look at him – he can’t get his bum in the air to get down to the fish!”
“Um. . . do ducks even eat fish?” Liz asked. I shrugged.
“I totally feel like that duck after Orvieto.” I said. “I mean, he’s trying really hard. . . he’s not as confused as that one, like, he’s got a better grip on the way he wants things to be, but he still doesn’t quite have the hang of it.”
Welcome to Messiah’s summer campus (it’s kind of rainy lately). Welcome also to my blog. It’s not as good as an ice-cream cone, but is undeniably better than a sharp stick in the eye (so on the scale of drug use to fairy tales, consumption of this blog is pretty healthy). This year means a lot of firsts for me: I spent a lot of time outside the United States for the first time, I’m not going home for the summer, and I’m actually working at a job like the one I want to have when I grow up (as opposed to, say, working at a coffee shop or fast food restaurant).
Like the third demented duck, I haven’t gotten the hang of all these new experiences yet - this whole fish-eating deal - but I hope to report positive summer discoveries. And maybe, as I’m figuring out what, exactly, my voice sounds like after all these firsts are blended together and shaken out into something new, you’ll get a better idea of the challenges and satisfactions of student life at Messiah.
Filed under general, introduction, ducks, fish-eating | Comment (1)